Bubble Gum Frosting Cupcakes with Gelatin Bubbles

Bubble Gum Frosting Cupcakes with Gelatin Bubbles

Instead, let's make cupcakes with bubble gum frosting and use way too many sprinkles. Let's be crafty and make gelatin bubble toppers, too. It's easy and I'll show you how!

I first saw the gelatin bubble technique weeks ago on Cake Central, and I've been dying to try it ever since. I wasn't sure exactly what kind of treat I would make to put bubbles on - something soap themed seemed a little unappetizing, but I found my inspiration in a little dram bottle of LorAnn bubble gum flavor. In my experience, bubble gum flavored treats are a bit polarizing. I'll admit that I was wary of adding the flavor to frosting, but it's surprisingly good!

Ready to see how I made the bubbles?

Refer to these pictures as you read the tutorial. The first thing you'll need to get is a pack of small balloons. Mine were 6-inch, and I inflated them to various small sizes, roughly 2-4-inches in diameter. Standard balloons are usually egg-shaped when inflated, but you can make them round by pinching the two ends of the balloons and tying the ends together.

The gelatin portion is fun -a tad messy, so have a wet dish towel handy for drips.

Now, let me be clear on something here, the toppers are purely decorative. Because they are simply made of gelatin and water, they don't taste yummy. But they are so worth making for the effect! I couldn't believe how well they turned out!

The gelatin will set on the balloon and feel rubbery at first, but over the course of 24 hours, it will become dry and very crisp. You can re-dip the bubbles after they are just set to make them darker and more sturdy. In the picture above, the balloon in the foreground was coated twice in gelatin. The balloon in the background was coated only once.

I think this makes a great little weekend project. And if you have kiddos, I can't imagine them not wanting to get involved. It's so fun and kind of fascinating, too!

Fill a balloon 1/3 to 1/4 full of air. Pinch the balloon at both ends (the blown up/bulbous end and the open end) and tie the two together. This will help the balloon achieve a more round, bubble-like shape. Repeat process with remaining balloons. Balloons tend to attract fibers and particles (hello static electricity!) so place them on a dust-free surface.

Brush the balloons with a little vegetable shortening, then use your fingers to completely coat the balloon. Use a paper towel to wipe off most of the vegetable shortening you just applied. There will still be a very thin residue of shortening left behind. If too much of the shortening is left on the balloon, the gelatin will not stick!

In a small microwave-safe bowl, quickly whisk together the gelatin, food color, luster dust and cold water. It will become thick almost immediately. Let gelatin stand 5 minutes.

Heat the gelatin in the microwave for 10 seconds, or until it is completely melted. Let the mixture stand until lukewarm.

Hold a balloon by the knot and dip it into the gelatin, rotating it to coat the sides and avoiding the knot. Hold the balloon upright (knot to the bottom) and allow the excess to drip back into the bowl. Transfer the balloon to the grid cooling rack knot-side down. (I placed the balloon knot into an open grid.) Allow the balloon to dry for 5-10 minutes. Repeat with remaining balloons. Re-dip balloons in the gelatin. You may need to re-heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 3-4 seconds. The balloons will feel rubbery at first, but will dry to a firm, crisp shell over a 24 hour period.

Once the balloons are completely dry, you can remove the balloon. Start by snipping a hole with scissors right beside the tied knot. As the air escapes, the balloon should pull away from the sides of the gelatin. Using the scissors again, cut a larger hole in the bottom of the balloon and pull the balloon out with your fingers. If the gelatin layer is too thin, it may collapse. This happened to me a couple of times, but I was able to pop them back into place from the inside.

Place the bubbles cut-side-down when decorating. They can be used on buttercream and attached to fondant with piping gel or corn syrup.

The bubbles will keep for a long time. Store them in an air-tight container or zip-top bag until ready to use.

Call these cupcakes an ode to your inner teeny-bopper. I have one that loves Lip Smacker lip gloss and slumber parties. (Okay, maybe just the idea of slumber parties, because sleep = everything.)

The grown-up me can't wait to try these on another bubbly treat - champagne cupcakes! Perhaps they'll be a new topper for these that I love so dearly.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line one cupcake pan with 12 paper liners, and a second cupcake pan with 3 liners.

Beat together sugar and butter until lightened. Add the eggs one at a time, then increase mixer speed to high for two minutes or until batter is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, salt, baking powder and soda; beat for another minute and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Stir together heavy cream and sour cream in a small bowl. Beginning and ending with flour, alternately add the flour and yogurt mixture. Beat well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again briefly.

Spoon batter into the liners. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed in the center. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Bubblegum Frosting

1/2 cup/113g of unsalted butter, softened

1 cup/128g confectioners’ sugar

2-4 drops LorAnn concentrated bubblegum candy flavor (to taste)

Pastel star confetti sprinkles

15+ gelatin bubbles (see tutorial)

* Milk or heavy cream, optional

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the butter and confectioners’ sugar. Begin mixing on low speed until crumbly, and then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes. Add the bubblegum flavor to taste and beat until light and fluffy.

Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip, or use a zip-top bag with the corner snipped. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes in a large mound and sprinkle on the star confetti. Top each cupcake with one (or more!) gelatin bubble.

*Note: If you find the buttercream is too stiff for piping, you may add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is piping consistency.

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Oh my God! Your cakes and desserts are awesome, fantastic, amazing! I even don't know what to say, but wow. You are great in it. Very very nice photos and recipes. I will visit you as often as I can! :*

Wow! Those look absolutely amazing. I love the little star sprinkles too. I recently made this funfetti cake and those would look great on top; http://myownbakeoff.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/funfetti-sprinkle-cake.html

For those asking about flavoring the bubbles - I did try to add sugar to the gelatin mixture and it didn't dry crisp, it was rubbery and didn't hold shape - the bubble completely deflated with the balloon inside. I hope to monkey with the recipe a little more and find a way to produce a flavorful bubble.

I used the yellow cupcake recipe with my favourite buttercream and they were the best cupcakes I've ever had! SUPER moist (like absolutely amazing, we ate the extras plain or with jam!) and even after a couple of days in tupperware they were absolutely delicious. I used a bit extra vanilla but that was it! This is the cupcake recipe I'm going to use for everything!

Also for the question about Jello vs gelatin powder. These are made with UNFLAVORED GELATIN. Sold at Walmart and grocery stores usually as KNOX unflavored gelatin and near to the flavored stuff. Comes in a box with small envelopes of plain gelatin inside. Not very pricey and keeps well in your pantry. Just ask a clerk if you can't locate. Never have seen a store that does not sell it. Hope this helps you.

Thanks for the fantastic tutorial! I've seen these gelatin bubbles before and I've always wanted to make them but didn't know how. I'm definitely going to try these out for a New Year's Eve pink champagne cake!

If you don't use colour or just a little and coat it once and you put a little sugar figure in the middle of the cupcake before you put the bubble on top, you will have a little snow globe... You could color it with white dots so it looks like It's snowing :)

One idea for flavoring might be to add a drop of flavor extract to the gelatin mix, and then after the bubble has set up, to brush on some honey/sugar water and let that dry. I imagine that'd make a sweet gloss over it without compromising the structural integrity

Hi! I've tried experimenting with flavorings and sweeteners in the gelatin bubbles with no success. Flavoring oils and the alcohol in extracts changes the gelatin mixture and it never sets (dries) properly. I've not revisited recipe in the last couple of months, but I would like to figure out how to make them tasty and I'm open to suggestions.

Have you considered trying an emulsion instead of an extract? They are more commonly used by professional bakers as they don't have alcohol in them so they carry flavour better. If it is true that the alcohol is what affects the setting of the gelatin that should help avoid it. They are also usually made with propylene glycol instead of glycerin which, while the two are similar, may also make a difference.

Hi Heather! I'm really excited about trying these :) Would gel food color work instead of liquid? I suppose it could be too vibrant or too thick. I'm making them tomorrow and of course I'm out of red liquid color and I want to make pink bubbles. Thanks for the great tutorial!

Hi Colleen! I see no problem with using gel food color. If you're worried about the gel being too pigmented you could transfer a little gel to a cup and dilute it with just a little water (a drop or two).

We made these bubbles. Couple things that we found to be best. We used the 5” white balloons from Party City and we added the food color to the water and the theluster dust to the gelatin then mixed. Also if you are dGoing to make a lot of bubbles make a double batch using a deep bowl, we warmed a few times.